Girl Names That Start With D: 145 Ideas

Girl names that start with D range from favorites like Delilah, Daisy, Daphne and Diana to rare picks like Delphine, Demelza and Dulcibella, and this list of 145 gives a checked origin and meaning for every one.

D is a confident letter with a soft side. It holds flower names, goddess names, Puritan-era biblical names, laurel and sea names from Turkish and Hebrew, and Irish and Welsh names with meanings like “genuine” and “daughter of a poet”. No D name is in the 2025 top 10 for girls, according to the Social Security Administration, so most of these will feel familiar without being everywhere.

We grouped the D girl names by style: classic, unique, short, long, vintage, nature, mythology, biblical, international and gender neutral. Then come pronunciation quirks, D names that started as short forms, sibling and middle name ideas, and a quick initials check.

Key Takeaways

No D name is in the SSA top 10 for girls or boys born in 2025.
Familiar D names for girls include Delilah, Daisy, Daphne, Diana, Daniela, Dahlia, Dorothy and Della.
Rare options include Delphine, Demelza, Diantha, Dulcibella, Desiderata and Domitilla.
Several D names have more than one accepted pronunciation (Dahlia, Demi, Damaris), so decide how you will say it.
Test your favorite with the initials, out-loud, spelling and meaning checks before you decide.

Table of Contents

Girl Names That Start With D at a Glance

Quick Answer

Standout D names for girls: Delilah, Daisy, Daphne, Diana, Daniela, Dahlia, Dorothy and Della (familiar and classic); Delphine, Demelza, Diantha and Dulcibella (rare); Dot, Dora, Dua and Deja (short); Dawn, Dove, Defne and Derya (nature). No D name is in the U.S. top 10 for girls or boys born in 2025.

Every origin and meaning here was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning unknown, uncertain or possible, we say so.

These are the best known baby girl names that start with D. For ideas beyond one letter, see our main list of baby girl names, or browse our new lists of girl names that start with G and girl names that start with I.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Delilah	Biblical, English	“Delicate, weak, languishing” in Hebrew; Samson’s lover in the Old Testament, used by the Puritans from the 17th century
Daisy	English	From the English word for the white flower, from Old English dægeseage: “day eye”; first used as a given name in the 19th century
Daphne	Greek mythology, English, Dutch	“Laurel” in Greek; the nymph who was turned into a laurel tree so she could escape Apollo
Diana	English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German and more; Roman mythology	“Divine, goddesslike”, from Latin dia or diva, “goddess”; the Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth
Daniela	Italian, German, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, English and more	Feminine form of Daniel, from Hebrew: “God is my judge”
Daniella	English, Hungarian	Feminine form of Daniel
Danielle	French, English, Dutch	French feminine form of Daniel; commonly used in English only since the 20th century
Dahlia	English (modern)	From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl
Delaney	English (modern)	From a surname: either the English or the Irish surname Delaney
Daleyza	American (Hispanic, modern)	Meaning uncertain; perhaps an elaboration of Dalia, the Spanish and Arabic form of Dahlia
Destiny	English	“Destiny, fate”, from the English word; ultimately from Latin destino, “to determine”
Dorothy	English	Usual English form of Dorothea (“gift of god”), in use since the 16th century; the heroine of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Della	English	Diminutive of Adela or Adelaide
Demi	Greek, English (modern)	Alternate transcription of a Greek name (see Dimi), and a short form of Demetria
Daria	Italian, Polish, Romanian, English, Croatian, Russian, Late Roman	Feminine form of Darius, an Old Persian name meaning “possessing goodness”; Saint Daria was a 3rd-century martyr
Danica	Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Macedonian, English	From a Slavic word meaning “morning star, Venus”
Deanna	English	Either a variant of Diana or a feminine form of Dean
Dayana	Spanish (Latin American)	Spanish variant of Diana, reflecting the English pronunciation

Familiar and classic D girl names with origins and meanings.

Notice how many of these share a root. Daniela, Daniella, Danielle, Dani and Danna all come back to Daniel, and Diane, Deanna, Dayana and Di all connect to Diana. The Social Security Administration (SSA) does not combine different spellings of similar names, so Daniela and Daniella get separate counts in the national data. If you pick a less common spelling, expect to spell it out now and then.

Four old names stand behind a large share of the letter D. If you like one member of a family, look at the others:

The Dorothea family: Dorothea means “gift of god” in Greek. Dorothy is its usual English form, and Dot, Dottie, Dolly and Dora are short forms of Dorothy. Dorota is the Polish, Czech and Slovak form, and Ditte is a Danish pet form.
The Daniel family: Daniela, Daniella, Danielle, Danna and Dani all trace to Daniel, which Behind the Name gives as Hebrew for “God is my judge”.
The Diana family: Diana, Diane, Dayana, Di and (by one explanation) Deanna. The root is Latin dia or diva, “goddess”.
The Deborah family: Deborah, Debra, Devorah and the Hebrew original all mean “bee”.

Unique and Rare Girl Names That Start With D

Looking for unique girl names that start with D? Behind the Name marks several of these as rare or archaic in English, and the rest have a long history but are uncommon in the United States today. Most are easy to say and spell, and a few are built from familiar pieces like Davina and Delphina.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Delphine	French	French form of Delphina
Delphina	Late Roman	Feminine form of Delphinus: “of Delphi”; the Blessed Delphina was a 14th-century Provençal nun
Demelza	English (British, rare)	From a Cornish place name meaning “fort of Maeldaf”; popularized in the 1970s by the British television series Poldark
Diantha	Dutch (rare), English (rare)	From dianthus, a type of flower; ultimately from Greek: “heavenly flower”
Dulcibella	English (archaic)	From Latin dulcis “sweet” and bella “beautiful”; the Latinized form was revived in the 18th century
Delight	English (rare)	“Delight, happiness”, from the English word
Desiderata	Late Roman	Feminine form of Desideratus, from Latin: “desired”
Davinia	English (rare), Spanish (modern)	Probably an elaboration of Davina
Delphia	English	Possibly from Delphi, the Greek city of Apollo’s oracle; used for the title character of the play The Prophetess (1647)
Decima	Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Decimus: “tenth” in Latin
Domitilla	Italian, Ancient Roman	Feminine diminutive of the Roman family name Domitius; the name of the wife of the Roman emperor Vespasian

Unique and rare D names for girls.

Delphine and Delphina both go back to Delphi, the Greek city of Apollo’s oracle, and Delphia may come from the same place. Dulcibella pairs two Latin words, sweet and beautiful, which makes it one of the warmest meanings on this page. Desiderata, “desired”, is the Latin root behind Désirée, which you will find in the long names below.

To see how rare a name really is, use the Popularity of a Name search on the SSA baby names page. The SSA leaves out names with fewer than 5 occurrences to protect privacy, so the very rarest names will not show up there at all. More ideas live in our unique girl names guide.

Short D Names for Girls (2 to 5 Letters)

Short D names are quick to write, easy for a toddler to say, and sit well next to a long surname or a long middle name. Many of them began as pet forms of longer names and now stand on their own.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Dot	English	Diminutive of Dorothy
Di	English	Short form of Diana
Dora	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Croatian, English, German and more	Short form of Dorothy, Theodora or Isidora
Dina	Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, biblical and more	Form of Dinah (“judged” in Hebrew) in several languages, and the form in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin Old Testament
Dua	Arabic	“Prayer” in Arabic
Dita	Czech, German, Latvian	Short form of names containing dit, such as Judita, and German names beginning with Diet
Deja	African American (modern)	“Already”, from the French phrase déjà vu, “already seen”
Dani	English	Diminutive of Danielle
Danna	English	Feminine form of Daniel or Dan
Drea	English	Short form of Andrea
Dasha	Russian	Russian diminutive of Darya

Short girl names starting with D.

A few more short names sit in other tables on this page: Dawn, Dove, Dee, Dana, Dale, Drew, Demi, Della, Duha, Duru, Diya, Devi and Dulce. Dua, “prayer” in Arabic, is one of the few that is short from the start rather than a nickname.

Long, Elegant and Vintage D Names

Long D names give you a formal option plus a choice of nicknames. Several are the Latin, Italian or French forms of names you may already know.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Dorothea	German, Dutch, English, Ancient Greek	Feminine form of the Greek name Dorotheos: “gift of god”; Theodore is built from the same two elements in reverse order
Dominica	English (rare), Late Roman	Feminine form of Dominic, from Late Latin Dominicus: “of the Lord”
Domenica	Italian	Italian feminine form of Dominicus (“of the Lord”)
Désirée	French, Dutch, German	French form of Desiderata, and in part directly from the French word for “desired, wished”
Desiree	English	English form of Désirée, popularized in English by the movie Désirée (1954)
Demetria	Ancient Greek, English	Feminine form of Demetrius, a name derived from the goddess Demeter
Donatella	Italian	Diminutive of Donata
Donata	Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, Ancient Roman	Feminine form of Donatus: “given” in Latin
Dorinda	English, Galician	Dora plus the name suffix inda; apparently coined by John Dryden and William D’Avenant for their play The Enchanted Island (1667)
Davina	English	Feminine form of David (from Hebrew: “beloved” or “uncle”); it originated in Scotland

Long and elegant D girl names.

Dorothea and Theodore are a fun pair to know about: Behind the Name notes that they use the same two Greek words, gift and god, in reverse order. Domenica and Dominica both mean “of the Lord”, and Behind the Name notes that the masculine Dominic was traditionally given to a child born on Sunday.

These vintage picks were familiar a few generations ago. Many are English names from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and several come with a ready-made pet form.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Doris	English, German, Swedish, Danish, Croatian, Spanish; Greek mythology	“Dorian woman” in Greek; a sea nymph in Greek myth; used as an English name since the 19th century
Dolores	Spanish, English	“Sorrows”, from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows; used in English since the 19th century
Delores	English	Variant of Dolores
Donna	English	From Italian donna: “lady”; also used as a feminine form of Donald or Don
Debra	English	Variant of Deborah
Darlene	English	The English word darling plus the name suffix lene; in use since the beginning of the 20th century
Darla	English	Variant of Darlene using the suffix la
Doreen	English	Dora plus the name suffix een; first appeared in the 19th century
Dolly	English	Diminutive of Dorothy, used since the 16th century; the English word doll comes from it
Dottie	English	Diminutive of Dorothy
Denise	French, English, Dutch	French feminine form of Denis, from the medieval French form of Dionysius
Diane	French, English	French form of Diana, also regularly used in English
Dulcie	English	From Latin dulcis: “sweet”; used in the Middle Ages as Dowse and Duce, and recoined in the 19th century

Vintage D names for girls.

Dulcie is the vintage pick with the oldest roots: it comes from Latin dulcis, sweet, and was in use in the Middle Ages before it was recoined in the 19th century. Dolores carries a religious meaning, “sorrows”, from a Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, which some families love and others find heavy. Read the full entry before you decide.

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Nature D Names: Flowers, Laurel, Sea and Sky

Many pretty girl names that start with D come from nature. Three of the best known are in other tables: Daisy (from Old English for “day eye”), Dahlia (named for a Swedish botanist) and Diantha (from the dianthus flower). The list below adds dawn, birds, gems, the sea and the laurel tree in English, Turkish, Hebrew and Balkan languages. For more, see our flower names guide.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Dawn	English	From the English word dawn, ultimately from Old English dagung
Dove	English	From the English word for the bird, seen as a symbol of peace
Daffodil	English (rare)	From the name of the flower, ultimately from Dutch de affodil: “the asphodel”
December	English (rare)	From the twelfth month, from Latin decem, “ten”; sometimes given to a child born in December
Diamond	English (rare), African American (modern)	From the clear precious stone, the traditional birthstone of April; from a Greek word meaning “unconquerable, unbreakable”
Delta	English	The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, and also the word for an island formed at the mouth of a river
Defne	Turkish	“Laurel” in Turkish, of Greek origin
Dafna	Hebrew	“Laurel” in Hebrew, of Greek origin
Dafina	Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian	“Laurel” in Albanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian, of Greek origin
Derya	Turkish	“Sea, ocean” in Turkish, ultimately from Persian
Damla	Turkish, Azerbaijani	“Water drop” in Turkish and Azerbaijani
Dunja	Serbian, Croatian, Slovene	“Quince” in the South Slavic languages; a quince is a fruit similar to a pear
Dalit	Hebrew	From Hebrew daliyya: “hanging branch”

Nature inspired D names for girls.

The laurel shows up again and again on this letter. Daphne means laurel in Greek, and Defne (Turkish), Dafna (Hebrew) and Dafina (Albanian, Bulgarian and Macedonian) are all laurel names of Greek origin. If you love the idea but want a less common sound, one of those three may be the answer.

Turkish adds a whole set of water and nature words: Derya (sea, ocean), Damla (water drop), Deniz (sea, listed in the gender neutral table) and Doğa (nature). If you like morning and light themes, put Dawn, Danica (morning star), Duha (morning) and Diya (lamp, light) side by side.

Mythology, Literature and Biblical D Names

Greek myth supplies most of these: the goddess of the harvest (Demeter), her daughter Despoina, a goddess some legends call the mother of Aphrodite (Dione) and the mother of Perseus (Danaë). Rome, Ireland and Spanish literature add the rest. For Dido and Deirdre the reference says the meaning is unknown, and for Danu it calls the goddess herself hypothetical.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Danaë	Greek mythology	Feminine form of Danaus; in myth, the mother of the hero Perseus
Demeter	Greek mythology	Possibly “earth mother”; the Greek goddess of agriculture and the mother of Persephone
Dione	Greek mythology	From Greek Dios, “of Zeus”, and by extension “goddess”; a moon of Saturn is named after her
Dido	Roman and Greek mythology	Meaning unknown, probably of Phoenician origin; the queen of Carthage in Virgil’s Aeneid
Deirdre	English, Irish; Irish mythology	From the Old Irish name Derdriu, meaning unknown, possibly from der, “daughter”; a tragic heroine of Irish legend
Danu	Irish mythology (hypothetical)	A hypothetical Irish mother goddess, known from the phrase Tuatha Dé Danann; possibly from a root meaning “river”
Delia	English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian; Greek mythology	“Of Delos” in Greek; an epithet of Artemis, who was born on the island of Delos
Despoina	Greek mythology, Greek	“Mistress, lady” in Greek; in myth, a daughter of Demeter and Poseidon
Dulcinea	Literature	From Spanish dulce, “sweet”; the love interest of the hero in Cervantes’ Don Quixote (1605)

D names from mythology and literature.

Some of these figures have sad stories. Deirdre is a tragic heroine of Irish legend, and Behind the Name notes that Dido threw herself on a funeral pyre in Virgil’s Aeneid. Many parents still love the sound; just read the whole story first. Delia, an epithet of Artemis, and Dulcinea, the love interest in Don Quixote, have gentler associations.

Biblical girl names that start with D are a small but varied group. Delilah, from the first table, is the best known today, though her story (she betrays Samson) is far from flattering. The table below adds two Old Testament women, three from the New Testament and two other language forms. Our biblical girl names guide has the full list for every letter.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Deborah	English, biblical	From the Hebrew name Devora: “bee”; a heroine and prophetess who leads the Israelites in the Old Testament Book of Judges
Dinah	Biblical, English	“Judged” in Hebrew; a daughter of Jacob and Leah in the Old Testament
Dorcas	Biblical, English (African)	From Greek dorkas: “gazelle”; the Greek translation of the name Tabitha in the Book of Acts
Damaris	Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek	Probably “calf, heifer, girl” in Greek; a woman converted to Christianity by Saint Paul in the New Testament
Drusilla	Biblical, Ancient Roman, Biblical Latin	Feminine diminutive of the Roman family name Drusus; the wife of Felix in the Book of Acts
Devorah	Hebrew	Alternate transcription of the Hebrew form of Deborah (“bee”)
Dalila	French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Biblical Latin	Form of Delilah used in the Latin Old Testament and in French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese

Biblical D names for girls.

Deborah is the strongest of these in story: a prophetess and leader in the Book of Judges whose name means bee. Dorcas means gazelle and is the Greek translation of Tabitha, and Behind the Name notes that today it is most commonly used in English-speaking Africa.

International D Names by Language

Origins below use the reference’s own usage labels. Scandinavia gives the letter its brightest meanings (Dagny, “day” plus “new”), the Slavic languages give it gift and morning-star names, and Ireland and Wales give it some of its most distinctive spellings.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Dagny	Swedish, Norwegian, Danish	From the Old Norse name Dagný: “day” plus “new”
Dagmar	Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, Czech, Slovak	From the Old Norse name Dagmær: “day” plus “maid”; the name taken by the Bohemian wife of the Danish king Valdemar II in 1205
Delfina	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese	Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Delphina
Dafne	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese	Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Daphne
Dulce	Spanish, Portuguese	“Sweet” or “candy” in Spanish
Dorota	Polish, Czech, Slovak	Polish, Czech and Slovak form of Dorothea
Dominika	Slovak, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Slovene, Russian	Feminine form of Dominic
Darina	Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian, Russian	From the Slavic word darŭ: “gift”
Darya	Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian	Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian form of Daria
Despina	Greek	Modern Greek form of Despoina (“mistress, lady”)
Dimitra	Greek	Modern Greek form of Demeter
Ditte	Danish	Danish diminutive of Edith, Dorothea or names containing dit
Dervla	Irish	Anglicized form of Deirbhile or Dearbháil
Deirbhile	Irish	“Daughter of a poet” in Old Irish; a 6th-century Irish saint, also called Dervla
Dearbhla	Irish	Variant of Dearbháil (“daughter of Fál”, a legendary name for Ireland), perhaps influenced by Irish dearbh, “true”
Doireann	Irish; Irish mythology	Possibly “daughter” plus “white, blessed” in Old Irish, or from Irish doireann, “sullen, tempestuous”
Delyth	Welsh	From an elaboration of Welsh del: “pretty”; a recently created name
Dilys	Welsh	“Genuine” in Welsh; used since the late 19th century
Dymphna	Irish; ecclesiastical history	Form of Damhnait (“calf, fawn”); Saint Dymphna is the patron saint of the mentally ill

Scandinavian, Southern European, Slavic, Greek, Irish and Welsh D names.

Irish spelling follows its own rules, so learn the sound before you fall for the look. Behind the Name gives Doireann as /ˈdˠɛ.ɾʲənˠ/ in Irish, and Deirbhile has four syllables. Dervla is the anglicized form of Deirbhile, so it is a gentle way into the same name. Our Irish girl names guide explains more.

Sanskrit, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Korean and Tagalog names round out the letter. Korean meanings depend on the hanja (Chinese characters) a family chooses, so read the gloss for Da-eun as one common reading rather than the only one.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Divya	Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam	“Divine, heavenly” in Sanskrit
Devi	Hinduism, Hindi, Tamil, Indonesian	From Sanskrit devī: “goddess”
Diya	Hindi	“Lamp, light” in Hindi
Delara	Persian	“Adorning the heart” in Persian
Dilara	Turkish	Turkish form of Delara
Duygu	Turkish	“Emotion, sensation” in Turkish
Derin	Turkish	“Deep, profound” in Turkish
Duru	Turkish	“Clear, lucid” in Turkish
Dunya	Arabic	“World, earth” in Arabic
Daniya	Arabic	“Close, near” in Arabic
Da-eun	Korean	“Much, many” plus “kindness, mercy, charity” or “silver”, depending on the hanja; other combinations are possible
Dalisay	Tagalog	“Pure” in Tagalog
Diwata	Tagalog	“Goddess, nymph, fairy” in Tagalog
Divina	Spanish (Philippines), Portuguese (Brazilian)	From Spanish or Portuguese divina: “divine, godlike”

Indian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Korean and Filipino D names.

Print special characters exactly as the entry spells them (Désirée, Danaë, Doğa, Diệp). U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents or special characters, so think ahead about how the name will look without them. And if a name comes from a culture outside your own family, learn how it is said and used before you commit.

Gender Neutral D Names

Behind the Name lists each of these as both feminine and masculine. Many are English surnames taken from places, and the rest come from French, Turkish, Arabic, Vietnamese, Yoruba, Amharic, Chewa and Welsh. You will find more in our gender neutral names guide.

Name	Origin	Meaning
Dakota	English (modern)	From the Native American people of the northern Mississippi Valley, or the states named for them; the tribal name means “allies, friends”
Drew	English	Short form of Andrew, sometimes used as a feminine form
Dallas	English	From a surname meaning “valley house” (Old English) or “meadow dwelling” (Scottish Gaelic)
Devin	English	From a surname, either the Irish or the English surname Devin
Devon	English, African American (modern)	Variant of Devin, partly inspired by the county of Devon in England
Darcy	English	From an English surname from Norman French d’Arcy, for someone from the town of Arcy in France; the surname of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Darby	English	From a surname taken from the town of Derby, from Old Norse: “animal” plus “farm, settlement”
Dale	English	From a surname for a person who lived near a dale or valley
Denver	English	From a surname taken from a place name: “Dane ford” in Old English
Dana	English	From a surname of unknown origin
Dee	English	Short form of names beginning with D; it may also refer to the Dee River in Scotland
Dominique	French	French feminine and masculine form of Dominicus (“of the Lord”)
Deniz	Turkish	“Sea” in Turkish
Doğa	Turkish	“Nature” in Turkish
Duha	Arabic	“Morning” in Arabic
Diệp	Vietnamese	From Sino-Vietnamese diệp: “leaf”
Dayo	Yoruba	“Joy arrives” in Yoruba
Desta	Amharic	“Joy” in Amharic
Dalitso	Chewa	“Blessing” in Chewa
Deryn	Welsh	Possibly from the Welsh word deryn, a variant of aderyn: “bird”

Gender neutral names that start with D.

Several of these are feminine in one language and used for both elsewhere, and many began as surnames. If you want a name that leans clearly feminine, the girls’ tables above are the safer place to look; if you love a surname-style sound, Darcy, Darby and Delaney (in the first table) are worth a look.

Why D Names Are Loved: Sound, Spelling and Short Forms

A few plain reasons parents come back to girl names that start with D:

The firm opening sound gives a name a clear start: Daisy, Della, Dove.
The letter mixes flower names (Daisy, Dahlia), goddess names (Diana, Daphne) and word names (Dawn, Delight, Destiny).
It spans many languages, from Danish and Czech to Turkish, Hebrew, Hindi, Tagalog and Yoruba.
Several D names come with a built-in nickname, and some of those nicknames now stand on their own.

Here is something most name lists skip: D names are not always said the same way, even in English. Some have several accepted pronunciations, and some change as soon as they cross a border. This table uses the pronunciation printed on each name’s Behind the Name entry (in the International Phonetic Alphabet, with a plain description beside it).

Name	Pronunciation (per Behind the Name)	What to notice
Diana	/daɪ.ˈæn.ə/ (English), /ˈdja.na/ (Spanish, Italian)	Long I in English, a quick dya sound in Spanish and Italian
Dahlia	/ˈdæl.jə/, /ˈdɑl.jə/, /ˈdeɪl.jə/	Three accepted English vowels
Demi	/də.ˈmiː/, /ˈdɛm.i/ (English)	Stress on the second or the first syllable
Damaris	/ˈdæm.ə.ɹɪs/, /də.ˈmɛɹ.ɪs/, /də.ˈmɑɹ.ɪs/ (English)	Three English versions
Deirdre	/ˈdɪɹ.dɹə/, /ˈdɪɹ.dɹi/ (American English)	Ends in an uh or an ee sound
Daniela	/dæn.ˈjɛl.ə/ (English), /da.ˈnje.la/ (Spanish)	Different vowels by language
Desiree / Désirée	/dɛz.ɪ.ˈɹeɪ/ (English), /de.zi.ʁe/ (French)	Stress moves to the end
Dagmar	DOW-mar (Danish), /ˈdaɡ.mar/ (Czech)	The g is silent in Danish
Despina	/ˈðe.spi.na/ (Greek)	Starts with a soft th sound, as in this
Da-eun	/ta.ɯn/ (Korean)	Closer to a T than an English D
Deja	/ˈdeɪ.ʒə/ (English)	The j sounds like the s in measure
Dulce	/ˈdul.θe/ (European Spanish), /ˈdul.se/ (Latin American Spanish)	The c is th in Spain and s in Latin America

How D names are said, per Behind the Name.

Why it matters: people will see the name written before they hear it. If you choose Dahlia, Demi or Damaris, pick the version you prefer and tell family and teachers early. If you choose Despina or Dagmar and want the Greek or Danish sound, expect many English speakers to say it the English way.

Many D names began as pet forms. This table lists only short forms that Behind the Name itself gives, so you can see where each one came from.

D name	Where it comes from
Dot, Dottie, Dolly	Diminutives of Dorothy
Dora	Short form of Dorothy, Theodora or Isidora
Ditte	Danish diminutive of Edith, Dorothea or names containing dit
Di	Short form of Diana
Dani	Diminutive of Danielle
Dasha	Russian diminutive of Darya
Demi	Short form of Demetria (and a Greek name in its own right)
Drea	Short form of Andrea
Della	Diminutive of Adela or Adelaide
Dee	Short form of any name beginning with D

D names that began as short or pet forms, per Behind the Name.

Sibling, Twin and Middle Name Ideas

These pairings are ideas, not rules. Sister or twin sets that share a letter work best when the names differ in length, ending or rhythm:

Daisy and Dahlia
Diana and Delia
Dorothy and Della
Daphne and Delphine
Dagny and Dagmar
Derya and Damla
Dilys and Delyth
Dorothea and Dulcie
Dove and Dawn
Deborah and Dinah

Daisy, Dahlia and Diantha make a natural flower trio, and Daphne, Defne and Dafna share the laurel meaning across three languages. For a brother, look at our new list of boy names that start with H, or keep the letter with Dallas, Darby or Denver from the table above.

For middle names, contrast helps. A short middle balances a long first name, and a longer middle gives a short first name some weight. Some D combinations to try: Daisy Dorothea, Della Diane, Dora Delphine, Dove Diana or Dulcie Danielle. If you would rather vary the initials, pair a short D name with a long middle name from another letter.

The Initials Check and Other Quick Tests

Before you settle on girl names that start with D, run each finalist through four quick tests:

Initials: write out the first, middle and last initials. Check that they do not spell a word you would not choose. Many D combinations form common abbreviations, so look closely at anything with a D plus one or two other letters.
Say it out loud: call the full name across a room. A first name that ends in a D sound or a vowel can blur into a surname that starts with D; a pause helps, or a middle name that breaks it up.
Spelling: Daniela and Daniella, Desiree and Désirée, Dolores and Delores, Devin and Devon all sound alike. Decide whether you mind spelling it out for years.
Pronunciation: if your favorite has more than one accepted sound (Dahlia, Demi, Deirdre), pick one and tell people early.

One more optional check: how common the name is. No D name is in the 2025 top 10 for girls or boys, according to the SSA, so none of these is likely to be the most common name in your daughter’s class. For any name you are curious about, the SSA’s Popularity of a Name search lets you look a name up by sex and range of years.

Meaning is worth a second look too. Most D names have warm meanings (gift, sweet, joy, laurel), but a few do not: Delilah means “delicate, weak, languishing”, Dolores means “sorrows”, and Doireann may mean “sullen, tempestuous”. None of that has to rule a name out, but it is better to know before a relative looks it up.

If you are stuck between two finalists, try each one in the sentences you will say most often: calling her in from the yard, introducing her to a neighbor, spelling it at the doctor’s office. The one that feels easy after a few days is usually the one.

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The Bottom Line

The letter D covers nearly every style: familiar picks like Delilah, Daisy, Daphne and Diana, classics like Dorothy, Deborah and Della, rare finds like Delphine, Demelza and Dulcibella, laurel and sea names from Turkish and Hebrew, and names from Irish, Welsh, Scandinavian, Slavic, Sanskrit, Korean and Tagalog. It also has more pronunciation quirks than you might expect, so check how a name is said before you fall for how it looks.

Shortlist three to five names, read each name’s full entry, test the initials and the sound, and say each one out loud for a week. A name you have checked and still like after a week is a good name.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most popular girl names that start with D?

No D name made the U.S. top 10 for girls or boys born in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration. Familiar D girl names include Delilah, Daisy, Daphne, Diana, Daniela, Dahlia, Delaney, Daleyza, Dorothy and Della. The SSA counts each spelling separately, so Daniela and Daniella are ranked as different names.

What is a pretty girl name that starts with D?

Taste is personal, but meaning can help. Dorothea means gift of god, Dulcie comes from the Latin word for sweet, Delyth comes from a Welsh word for pretty, Danica means morning star, Desta means joy in Amharic, and Daphne, Defne and Dafna all mean laurel. Daisy and Dahlia are flower names.

What are unique girl names that start with D?

Unique D names include Delphine, Delphina, Demelza, Diantha, Dulcibella, Desiderata, Davinia, Decima and Domitilla. Behind the Name marks several of them as rare or archaic in English. The Social Security Administration leaves out names with fewer than 5 occurrences, so the very rarest names never appear in its lists at all.

What are short girl names that start with D?

Short D names include Dot, Di, Dora, Dina, Dua, Dita, Deja, Dani, Danna, Drea and Dasha, plus Dawn, Dove, Dee, Dana and Demi. Several began as pet forms: Dot and Dottie come from Dorothy, Di from Diana, Dasha from Darya and Drea from Andrea. Dua means prayer in Arabic.

What are biblical girl names that start with D?

Deborah is a prophetess and leader in the Book of Judges, and her name means bee. Delilah and Dinah also come from the Old Testament. Dorcas, Damaris and Drusilla appear in the New Testament, with Dorcas meaning gazelle. Devorah is a Hebrew form of Deborah, and Dalila is the Latin form of Delilah.

Which D names work for both girls and boys?

Behind the Name lists Dakota, Drew, Dallas, Devin, Devon, Darcy, Darby, Dale, Denver, Dana, Dee and Dominique as both feminine and masculine. So are Deniz and Doğa from Turkish, Duha from Arabic, Diệp from Vietnamese, Dayo from Yoruba, Desta from Amharic, Dalitso from Chewa and Deryn from Welsh.

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